Do not fear fragility!

org. Every part of the Church, and many others outside of her – believers or non-believers – have received Pope Francis` clear and hope-filled words. They are also words that motivate us to assume the responsibility we all have to build a world in accordance to the Will of God, in the strength of the Spirit and through the way of Christ. Cardinals and bishops, priests, men and women religious, novices and seminarians, families, the youth and elderly, communities and institutes have received this challenge to go out “onto the street” to take – not a utopian hope – but concrete deeds in living evangelization projects to all men and women wherever they may be. And if they are on the “outskirts” then we have to go there, with all the risks and dangers it may include. He repeats to us constantly: I prefer an injured church, because she goes out to serve, to a Church that is sick because of her self-absorption. Testimony to this can be found in the section of Schoenstatt.org where on a weekly basis texts are selected which motivate us on our own pilgrimage toward the 2014 Jubilee. Undoubtedly, because we are the Church, these words are also directed to us. How happy must our Father not be with this missionary impetus which is given to us from the very heart of the Church! (Fr. José María García)

WEEK 7/2014

What zest life acquires when we allow ourselves to be filled by the love of God.

Tweet from 7.2.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, which follows directly from the Beatitudes, Jesus says to his disciples: “you are the salt of the earth…you are the light of the world” (Mt 5,13-14). This surprises us a little bit if we think of the people to whom Jesus was speaking. Who were those disciples? They were fishermen, simple people…But Jesus looked at them with God’s eyes, and his statement should be understood precisely as a consequence of the Beatitudes. He is saying: if you are poor in spirit, if you are be meek, if you are pure of heart, if you are merciful…you will be the salt of the earth and the light of the world!

Angelus 9.2.2014

In order to understand these images better, we must bear in mind that the Jewish law prescribed putting a little salt over each offering to God, as a sign of the covenant. Light, then for Israel was a symbol of the messianic revelation that triumphs over the darkness of paganism. Christians, the new Israel, therefore received a mission for all men: with faith and charity they can guide, consecrate, make humanity fruitful. All who have been baptized are missionary disciples and we are called to become a living Gospel in the world: with a holy life we will give “flavor” to the different spheres [of society] and defend them from corruption, as salt does; and we will take the light of Christ through the testimony of genuine charity. But if we Christians lose our flavor and dim our presence as salt and light, we will lose our effectiveness.

Angelus 9.2.2014

How beautiful is this mission of giving light to the world! It is our mission.  It is beautiful…it is also beautiful to preserve the light we have received from Jesus. Look after it. Preserve it. A Christian should be a person of light, a person who takes the light, always gives light, a light that is not his/hers but is a gift from God, a gift from Jesus. And we pass on this light. If the Christian person douses this light, life has no meaning. He is a Christian only in name, but does not carry the light. A life without meaning. I want to ask you now: How do you want to live? As a lit lamp or an unlit lamp? Lit or unlit? How would you like to live? It is difficult to hear. A lit lamp! Yes? And it is God who gives us this light and we pass it on to others. A lit lamp! This is the Christian vocation.

Angelus 9.2.2014

On 11 February we will celebrate the memorial of the Blessed Virgin of Lourdes and we will observe the World Day of the Sick. This is a propitious occasion to place the community of those who are sick at the centre, to pray for them and with them, be close to them. The message for this day is inspired in an expression from St. John: faith and charity: “We ought to lay down our lives for one another” (1 Jn 3.16). In particular, we can imitate Jesus’ attitude towards the sick, people with all kinds of illness. The Lord cares for them, shares their suffering and opens their heart to hope.

Angelus 9.2.2014

The dignity of the person can never be reduced to his faculties and abilities, and this dignity is not lessened when the person is weak, invalid and needs help. I also think of families, where it is normal to take care of those who are sick. But sometimes, situations can be very difficult. Many people write to me and today I would like to assure all these families of my prayers and I say to them them: Do not fear fragility! Do not fear fragility! Help one another with love and you will feel God’s consoling presence. The attitude toward the sick that is generous and Christian is the salt of the earth and the light of the world. May the Blessed Mother help us to practice this and obtain peace and consolation for all those who are suffering.

Angelus 9.2.2014

When we celebrate the Mass, it is not a representation of the Last Supper: no, it is not a representation.  It is something else: it is the Last Supper itself. It is to once again live the Passion and redeeming death of the Lord. It is a theophany: The Lord makes himself present on the altar to be offered to the Father for the salvation of the world. We often hear or say: “Now, I can’t, I must go to Mass, I must listen to Mass.” The Mass cannot be ‘heard,’ we participate in it, we participate in this theophany, this mystery of the presence of the Lord among us. The Nativity, the Stations of the Cross, these are representations. The Mass, in contrast, is a real commemoration, in other words, a theophany: God draws near and is with us, and we participate in the mystery of Redemption.” Sadly, so often when we are in Mass, we look at our watches, count the minutes: this is not the attitude that the liturgy asks of us: the liturgy is time for God and space for God, and we should enter into God’s time and God’s space and not look at our watches.

Santa Marta, 10.2.2014

God also weeps: his cries are like those of a father who loves his children and never rejects them even if they are rebellious and waits for them forever…In moments of difficulty, our Father answers. We recall Isaac, when he went with Abraham to make the sacrifice: Isaac was not stupid, he noticed that they were carrying fire wood, the fire, but no lamb for the sacrifice. He was stricken with anguish in his heart! And what does he say? “Father!” Immediately the father replies: “I am here my son.” The father responds. In the same way Jesus, in the Garden of Olives called out with the same anguish in his heart: “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by!” And the angels came to give him strength. This is how our God is: He is Father. He is a Father. A Father like the one who waited for the prodigal son who left with all of the money, with his entire inheritance! But his father waited for him every day and saw him coming from afar. This is our God! And our fatherhood – like that of family fathers and the spiritual fatherhood of bishops and priests – should be like this. The Father has a kind of anointing that comes from the son: who cannot see himself without his son! And this is why he needs the son: he waits for him, loves him, searches for him, forgives him, wants him near, as close as a hen who loves her chicks…it is a grace! To be able to say a heartfelt ‘Father!’ to God a grace from the Holy Spirit. Ask him for this!

Santa Marta 4.2.2014

John was the man that God sent to prepare the way for his Son.  And John’s life ended tragically in Herod’s court during a banquet. In the court anything is possible: corruption, vices, crime. Courts favour these things. What did John do? First and foremost, he proclaimed the coming of the Lord. He announced that the Saviour was near, the Lord, that the Kingdom of God was near and he did this with great vigour. And he baptized. He called for everyone to convert. He was a strong man. And he announced Jesus Christ.

The first great thing he did was to announce Jesus Christ. The next thing is that he did not take advantage of his moral authority. He had the opportunity to say: ‘I am the Messiah’ because he had so much moral authority and everyone would have gone to him. And the Gospel says that John urged everyone to convert. And the Pharisees and the doctors of the law saw his strength: He was a righteous man. So they asked him if he was the Messiah. And in that moment of temptation, of vanity he could have said with a straight face: ‘I don’t know’…with a false humility.’ Instead, he was clear: No! I am not him. The one who is to come is more powerful than I, that I am not even worthy to remove his sandals.” John was clear. He did not steal the title. He did not take possession of the mission. This then, is the second mark of a real man: He does not steal dignity. The third thing that John did was to imitate Christ. John imitated Christ, particularly in the way he humbled himself. John humbled himself, humbled himself to the end, even to the death. Humiliating deaths. John also had his ‘garden of olives,’ anguish in prison when he thought he had made a mistake and he sent his disciples to ask Jesus: “Tell me, is it you, or was I mistaken and there is another? The darkness of the soul, that darkness that purifies like Jesus in the Garden of Olives. And Jesus answered John, as the Father answered Jesus, by comforting him. That darkness of the man of God, the woman of God. I am thinking about the dark night of the soul of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta…no? Ah, the woman who comforted the whole world, a Nobel Laureate. But she knew that in a certain moment of her life, for a long time, there was only darkness.

Santa Marta, 7.2.2014

The one who announced Jesus Christ, John did not take ownership of the prophecy.  He is the icon of a disciple. What was the source of this attitude of discipleship? An encounter. The Gospel tells us about the meeting between Mary and Elizabeth, when John lept with joy in Elizabeth’s womb. They were cousins. Perhaps they met several times afterwards. And that moment filled John’s heart with joy, great joy, and transformed him into a disciple. John was the man who announced Jesus Christ, who does not put himself in Jesus’ place and follows the way of Jesus. We would do well to ask ourselves about our discipleship: Do we proclaim Jesus Christ? Do we take advantage of our Christianity as if it were a privilege? John did not take advantage of his prophecy. Thirdly, are we following the way of Jesus? The way of humility, of humiliation, humbling ourselves in service? And if we find that we are not certain of this, then we should ask ourselves: When was my encounter with Jesus Christ? That encounter that filled me with joy? And to return to that encounter, return to the first Galilee of encounter. All of us have one! Return to that place! Meet again with the Lord and continue on this beautiful journey in which He must increase and we must diminish.

Santa Marta 7.2.2014

See all texts in “Francis for the Pilgrims 2014”

The aim of the pilgrimage
is the renewal of the covenant of love
as a missionary and unifying creative force,
i.e. internally the renewal of the Schoenstatt Family
and externally the shaping of covenant culture.

Working Document 2014